House Wotton of Thelema
House Wotton is a noble house serving in Omoron that is among the oldest in the region. The house has largely consisted of charismatic intellectuals who have a history of advising the monarchy going back to the early Terminus kings. This legacy was abruptly ended after they used their knowledge to negotiate a pact between Bishop Terminus and the Pit Fiend Kurnaz, earning their house an eternal stigma. They are vassals of House Hawthorne of Warmount Heights. ---- History The first of the Wottons was a mage in the service to Bishop Terminus I when he branched out from Gideon to establish Omoron. The house remained focused on the intellectual pursuit of magic throughout their history and were often selected to be court mage for the king, much to the disdain of Midvale. Make no mistake, young Wottons would often study at the school, but they would venture away from the college after they understood the basics of magic for their own independent study. Frequently they would rival the school, discovering new spells or challenging Midvale conventions with forbiddan magic. It is said that the most diverse library in Siladia outside of the academy (or perhaps simply the most diverse occult selection) can be found within House Wotton. One of these independent ventures occurred with Lord Henry Wotton, who was fascinated with planar mythology, specifically the nine hells. Lord Henry was unofficially exiled from the Midvale Academy due to this unconventional study and his seeming lack of modern ethical standards when it came to research. Wotton took the expulsion with stride, often throwing lavish parties with questionable themes at the families hold, as if to mock the institution. During the worst parts of the Great War, Bishop Terminus III feared the worst for his country. It seemed unlikely that his army could stand against the hordes of demons pouring in from the Abyss. As such, he decided to fight fire with fire, and make a deal with the devil. Knowing that most spellcasters in the country would never consent, Bishop consulted Lord Henry for advice on how to go about such a procedure. Now an expert in Baatorian magic, Henry was able to guide Bishop through his Faustian bargain and provide him with the spells necessary to summon the Pit Fiend Kurnaz so that the two could strike a deal. All looked well for Henry, who would certainly hold the King's favor once Omoron had won the war. The Curse Instead of lavishing in victory, Bishop Terminus took his devil army and turned it against he rest of Siladia. Once he lost his war of conquest, House Wotton suffered a different fate. The second the Commisar took his own life, as the peasants stormed his castle, Lord Henry Wotton underwent a terribly painful transformation. HIs head sprouted horns, his buttox grew a long tail, his skin was scorched, and the iris was burned out of his eyes with the fire of the nine hells. His children woke from their beds screaming, suffering the same fate. Having negotiated the Faustian bargain, his line was now "touched by Admodeus", cursed forever to be tieflings. The peasantry tried to take the lives of House Wotton as they did the family of the monarchy, blaming them for the war. However, the Midvale mages stepped in and requested they show mercy; suggesting that the gods had already shown justice to the family by punishing them with the curse. Many feel that the mages did this in attempt to humble the Wottons and bring the families magical resources back to the fold. Others say that the mages themselves caused the curse through a magical ritual, for the same reasons. If so, the attempt backfired. That day Henry Wotton was cursed, he abandoned wizardry in pursuit of a different type of arcane art. He became a warlock, and would forever rear his children to be the same. There is yet another rumor that is told about the family, and that is that there was no curse initially put on Henry Wotton. Some claim that being close friends with the crown, the house harbored the royal family's wife and daughter. According to this rumor, it was only after mating with the nobles did their offspring become devil touched. Regardless of the reason, life in Siladia is uneasy for House Wotton, who are constantly judged and mistrusted by the rest of the country due to their fiendish appearence. ---- DM Notes The name Henry Wotton is an allusion to a character of the same name in a Picture of Dorian Gray. In the novel, the character is a hedonist with no morality who in some way symbolizes the devil in his attempts to influence and tempt Dorian. The name of the holdfast, Thelema, is inspired by a religion created by Allister Crowly, an infamous occultist from history.